Working Days (16 page)

Publicity photograph of Gwyn Conger, circa 1939, inscribed playfully to John Steinbeck—“To my darling dancing partner John, here’s hoping you tap your way to the tops”—from “Bette Grable Conger.” Gwyn and Steinbeck met in Hollywood in 1939, and were married in New Orleans in 1943, shortly after Steinbeck obtained his divorce from Carol.

 

 

121-122

Very short note today. Beth is here and will stay the night. Books arrived and they are very good looking. Good advance sale which is tremendous for shorts. Must get to the ranch today and find out what that old fart [Ed.—Lawrence] is up to. He is messing around. The work today will include the great toilet paper scandal.
^*
And it is very funny. I hope I can make it funny. And now it will be a good idea to get to work.

 

 

Ed came up and we took the day off. And needed it too. I think the rest did both of us good.

 

 

123-124

Late this morning and a little ashamed of it. The war has not broken yet. Chamberlain has gone to see Hitler. Double cross by England seems inevitable. Can’t tell yet. England is making every effort to avoid war. And tension increases. Can’t tell yet. Last night to Pauls’ for dinner. Ed looks fine in his new teeth. Gaining weight and looks pretty happy. This week end to Jacksons’ to meet Adamic.* Should be fun. Went to the ranch yesterday. Ed quite crazy about it. Stones still on it. Supposed to go on Monday or Tuesday, I hope. We must get our work started there. Today my work is not so well mapped out. Just have to work along. And the end is not in sight. Have that time trouble. * Don’t know yet how I am going to get over it. Maybe I’ll figure it out later. Seems an awful problem now. But I’ll get it worked out, I guess. It might strain the whole structure if I am not very careful. And I can’t go on through it. I suppose it would be best to be very direct about it. That is usually the best. Today I think the general and I don’t quite know which one it is. Can’t very well do two more on camp life, or can I? I can to a certain extent. And then tomorrow do a general on music possibly, or on joy possibly. But today I should close up the first camp chapter [Ed.—Chapter 22] because the next is the dance chapter. Just have to figure it out. Time to work.

 

 

125-126

Comes now the end of the week and a new general chapter. And this one is all the amusements of the people [Ed.—Chapter 23]. The things they do for pleasure. It is a short general. Not over four thousand words. I want all of the things they do. I want this to precede the long chapter of the dance [Ed.—Chapter 24]. Beginning a review of
Long Valley—
lyrical and without much meaning. However the book hasn’t much meaning. Another wire from Pat this morning saying that he still likes the new title
T.G.O.W.
I am pleased. I like it better all the time. I think it is the best title so far. Louis’s dislike disturbed me but I am sure it is the right title. Tomorrow to S.F. and Berkeley. Tonight to dinner at Ben and Sally’s. Seems to be a busy week end. Next week the ranch will be vacant. Shower last night. The first of the season. Laid the dust and this morning felt like Mexico. Nostalgic air. Full of curious whispers. Carol will get to page 270 today. How she is working! She’ll be caught up in two more weeks. And then she can lay off for the duration and that will be good. I should be through in another month if I last. 25 days. Fifty thousand more words will finish it I am sure. Now to work.

 

 

127 the departure of Noah

This seems to be the usual time of getting to work. War seems closer than ever. France and England are either selling out or being very clever. If the Czechs fight they won’t be able to stay out. I think that there is probably skullduggery but I can’t tell. To Jacksons’ for the week end. Met a number of people—Adamic, and Covarrubias. * Nice people. Tiring though to meet so many of them. I feel pretty good today. Must go back and send Noah down the river.* May take something off today’s work, but it’s necessary. And still I don’t know how soon I’ll be through. Can’t tell. I won’t put down the number of pages until I am sure what I get done. Must go to work now.

128-129

Yesterday did only half a day, but went back and caught up to Noah. Later went to ranch. The Stones are leaving today. Which means that we must get Steve pretty soon. Burkes are coming today to look at the house. They have really never seen it. Think I’ll stay out of it. Carol handles things better than I do. I’ll stay out here. Carol will cross 300 typed pages today. Poor kid is tired. Another week and she should be nearly through so that she can go on with the house and leave me to finish this book. Then later she can get back to typing and I can go on correcting. I’m still confronted with this time change, but it will iron out. I think this is harder on Carol than it is on me. Because I am so thoroughly broken in on it that it seems the normal [Ed.—routine] to me, while to her it is just work. There is no way of knowing. It is so desperately slow to do. I haven’t figured out the wordage for some time. Guess I’ll do it now, and then to work. Well, I figured it out, and it isn’t far from 600 pages along, which is a hell of a lot of pages. And Carol isn’t nearly as far along as she thought. Well, she can stop any time, but I can’t. I must go on until I finish. What a long book this is. I hope it holds together. She is just at the fixing of the car [Ed.—Chapter 16] and that is a long time back. I should go to work now because the time is creeping upon me toward eleven. I bought my electric plant. I want maybe to get a little pelton wheel for lights. That would be good but would require a double wiring system but might be worth it. I’ll see about it. Can’t tell yet. Well anyway, the time has come to go to work. I’m sure of that. This book will be at least 800 typed pages long.

(Finished).

130-131

I see no reason why I shouldn’t fill in the pages to be written today. I have an early start. Letter from Beth—letter from [Ed.—actress Paulette] Goddard. Today it is likely that Steve will arrive. Wish we were free. It would make everything easy. But we are not free. I still can’t see the end of this book. Today the dance [Ed.—Chapter 24]. And I think that will end the chapter—then south, then north. And in the north the end. But the dance will be the last I think. There isn’t much to put down. Might as well get to work. And so to work without more trouble.

 

 

132-133 only half of 133 but will let it stand

Coughing pretty badly this morning. Too much excitement, too much smoking. Today we will go to the ranch and for the first time look it over without being shown. But there is work to be done first. Today the general chapter of the rotting fruit, and of the destroyed fruit and vegetables [Ed.—Chapter 25]. This should be a good chapter if I can write it. It should be fun. Well, must get to work and finish this chapter, no matter how long or short.

 

 

Today is Friday. Yesterday I finished the general chapter of the rotting fruit. Today I must go on. The book is beginning to round out. I think they go to Shafter. I think. I can begin to see the end. But that time jump is bound to give me trouble. I want this book to be perfectly integrated. Well it is heading toward that now. I rather think I will spend today in contemplation. I don’t know. Things are weighing on me. And time is passing. I have not heard from Pare which would indicate that his plan has not matured. But it is impossible to know and I am floundering some. There are letters to write. I really shouldn’t take the time right now but I feel rather devilish about the whole thing. So many things come up and go down. The T.F. matter has undoubtedly died. I hear so many things like that die. And as for this book, it goes on and on. Pare doesn’t want or need me I am pretty sure. I have lots of time to finish. Maybe I’ll write to Pare today and try to get an answer out of him. Perhaps it would help. Anyway, I am fairly sure now that I shan’t work today but will build on work. The Stones have left the ranch and the foundation forms of the new house are in. What a place it will be. I want to dig holes. I want to use a shovel. Did some yesterday and it made me feel fine. How I wish I were through. The time has come now to write a letter to Pare, I am pretty sure.

 

 

134-135

This book has become a misery to me because of my inadequacy. Friday I took off to consider my progress, and instead I got caught in all the details of the new ranch. And I grew frightened of this property. It is so much. One person or two have not the right to have so much. Then Steve came Saturday. And Steve is a member of I AM,
^*
a very complicated pseudo-psycho religion for people who want to dodge responsibility. That’s all right if he doesn’t go about conversion of us. And I am afraid that Steve is not going to be all right at all. Can’t tell yet, of course. Anyway Francis
^*
and Ritch and Tal and Ed were all up here and it was a terrific week end and it left me rather limp and raggy. And today I am still raggy and have to gather myself in. And I’m frightened that I’m losing this book in the welter of other things. The war about to break. I don’t think it will, and everything. Play goes on the road. Philly Oct. 19. Must write to Annie Laurie. Neither Wally nor Brod in it and I don’t care about that. A curious megalomania took them over. Rightly I guess. I hear
The Long
Valley was well reviewed
^*
in the East. Joe hasn’t touched it. Maybe he is irritated at me. I don’t know. But that is his business, not mine. Carol is nearly four hundred pages along on her typing. Hope she stops pretty soon and puts up the front against the outside. I find that I am trying to get done early these days and that is entirely wrong. Today I am going to discipline myself by working all day. Can’t have this time barrier up. It would ruin the book. Must throw out the world for a little time more—a month perhaps. We’ll see, but I must keep it leisurely and not try to get done too fast. Must remember that. We don’t have to put in a new pipe [Ed.—water line] until we want to. Just get the house ready. That’s the thing. This book is my sole responsibility and I must stick to it and nothing more. This book is my life now or must be. When it is done, then will be the time for another life. But, not until it is done. And the other lives have begun to get in. There is no doubt of that. That is why I am taking so much time in this diary this morning—to calm myself. My stomach and my nerves are screaming merry hell in protest against the inroads. I won’t be glad when it is done so why try to hurry it done? Now, I hope I calm down enough to start work again.

136-137

Time again. Letters—Elizabeth saying she may come out in November. Margolies
^*
in Brentanos again. And that’s all. Hitler has pulled in his stomach a little bit. The force against him is too great, I guess, even for his craziness. Saturday is the dead line fixed. I don’t think it will come to war, and neither do many. But the preparation goes on and it will take only one word to start it. The Poles can probably do it if they get rough. Lawrence here about the house and windows and stuff. Foundations are all poured at the new house. This afternoon we go up to Masson [Ed.—Martin Ray’s] to look at the grapes. They aren’t really ready. Won’t be for a week or ten days. Must go to work now. Wire from Chaplin says he’ll be here Friday.

 

 

138-139

Well, time again to start [Ed.—Chapter 26]. Action is about to start in this book for a while. People will be led to scab and will break out of it. Will go north for the cotton and will end there. Go to the box car camp and be moved by flood waters. And the book will end there. But there is a hell of a lot to happen yet. I mustn’t get impatient. I’ll be lucky if another month does it. I don’t care much. Yesterday I worked in the grapes and it proved how soft I am for the back hurt. Haven’t seen any reviews of the shorts except for Fadiman’s.
^*
Hear there is a review in the
Chronicle
^*
this morning. Will ask Carol to get it. Foundations are poured for the new house now. I must take my time about starting. This is the important part of the book. Must get it down. This little strike. Must win it. Must be full of movement, and it must have the fierceness of the strike. And it must be won. I can’t let this thing get lost at this late date. And in my mind the story is moving again. They’ll be recruited first [Ed.—to pick peaches at Hooper Ranch in Pixley], then escorted by state police, then by farm deputies. That night Tom creeps out and penetrates the lines. Meets the preacher, etc. However, I won’t get them today or any where near. I’ll be glad to see Chaplin. I think he’ll like the winery and the grapes. I hope so. I hope so. I love it. I like the smell and the process. I’m sure he will. Funny man. Seems so dreadfully lonely. Maybe that’s why he wants to come up so much. The rotisserie will make him love it. I’m sure and the bird cooking on the spindle. Now I must get to work. Three more work days this week. Finished a section yesterday. Must go on now. The tire is broken.